Salinas Grandes de Hidalgo: Huayquerian, Argentina

List of taxa
Where & when
Geology
Taphonomy & methods
Metadata & references
Taxonomic list
Mammalia - Sparassodonta
Borhyaenidium musteloides n. gen., n. sp. Pascual and Bocchino 1963
MLP 57-X-10-153, skull and postcrania, holotype
Mammalia - Sparassodonta - Thylacosmilidae
Mammalia - Didelphimorphia
Romano et al. 2023
Lutreolina sp. Thomas 1910
Thylamis sp. (Miranda-Ribeiro 1936)
(6 measurements)
Mammalia - Panameriungulata - Proterotheriidae
Schmidt et al. 2018
Schmidt et al. 2018
Schmidt et al. 2018
Mammalia - Panameriungulata - Macraucheniidae
Schmidt et al. 2022
Cullinia sp. Cabrera and Kraglievich 1931
Schmidt et al. 2022
MMH-MCH 87-9-4, mandibular fragment with right i1-m1 and left i1-p3
Romano et al. 2023
GHUNLPam 6765, associated left P2 and fragments of right M1?, GHUNLPam 8146, right M1, GHUNLPam 6110, left mandibular fragment with incomplete m2 and complete m3, and GHUNLPam 6207, incomplete lower molar
Mammalia - Carnivora - Procyonidae
Cyonasua brevirostris Moreno and Mercerat 1891
Mammalia - Rodentia - Hydrochoeridae
Goin et al. 2000
Mammalia - Rodentia - Caviidae
Prodolichotis sp. Kraglievich 1932
Romano et al. 2023
Mammalia - Rodentia - Echimyidae
Verzi et al. 1994
Holotype: MLP 65-VH-29-107
Mammalia - Rodentia - Abrocomidae
    = Protabrocoma antiqua Rovereto 1914
Romano et al. 2023
Mammalia - Rodentia - Octodontidae
Pascual et al. 1965
Holotype: MLP 57-X-l0-94 (see also ref 29353)
Mammalia - Rodentia - Chinchillidae
Lagostomus sp. Brookes 1828
Rasia et al. 2020
MLP 65-VII-29-72
Mammalia - Rodentia - Dinomyidae
Sostillo et al. 2022
GHUNLPam 8142, GHUNLPam 2924
Mammalia - Notoungulata
Tremacyllus impressus (Ameghino 1888)
Sostillo et al. 2021
Paedotherium minor Cabrera 1937
Cerdeño and Montalvo 2002
GHUNLPam 2429, GHUNLPam 5930
Mammalia - Notoungulata - Mesotheriidae
Mammalia - Notoungulata - Toxodontidae
Pisanodon nazari Cabrera and Kraglievich 1931
Mammalia - Megatheriidae
Mammalia - Mylodontidae
No 57- X-10-5/7, 101 y 65-VII-99-1 (also ref 70872)
Mammalia - Cingulata
Mammalia - Cingulata - Glyptodontidae
Mammalia - Cingulata - Panochthidae
Hoplophorus sp. Lund 1838
Romano et al. 2023
Mammalia - Cingulata
Mammalia - Cingulata - Dasypodidae
Esteban et al. 2000
Urrutia et al. 2008
Proeuphractus sp. Ameghino 1886
Goin et al. 2000
Paleuphractus sp. Kraglievich 1934
Esteban et al. 2000
Urrutia et al. 2008
Macrochorobates scalabrinii (Moreno and Mercerat 1891)
Reptilia - Gruiformes - Phorusrhacidae
Cenizo et al. 2012
GHUNLPam 6234, ungual phalanx of right digit IV? with distal end missing
Vezzosi 2012
MMP-990
Reptilia - Tinamiformes - Tinamidae
Eudromia sp. Geoffroy 1832
Eudromia sp. Geoffroy 1832
Cenizo et al. 2012
MLP 87-XI-20-3, right coracoid
cf. Nothura sp. Wagler 1827
Cenizo et al. 2012
GHUNLPam 6233, cranial fragment of sternum
Reptilia - Rheiformes - Rheidae
Pterocnemia sp. Gray 1870
Cenizo et al. 2012
GHUNLPam 6231, GHUNLPam 6232
Reptilia - Teratornithidae
Argentavis magnificens n. gen., n. sp. Campbell and Tonni 1980
Argentavis magnificens Campbell and Tonni 1980
Cenizo et al. 2012
MLP 65-VII-29-49, associated partial skeleton
Reptilia - Testudines - Testudinidae
Chelonii indet. Latreille 1800
de Broin and de la Fuente 1993
MLP
    = Testudinidae indet. Batsch 1788
de la Fuente et al. 2018
see common names

Geography
Country:Argentina State/province:La Pampa County:Atreuco
Coordinates: 37.2° South, 63.6° West (view map)
Paleocoordinates:36.9° South, 61.9° West (Wright 2013)
Basis of coordinate:based on nearby landmark
Geographic resolution:local area
Time
Period: Neogene
10 m.y. bin: Cenozoic 6
Key time interval: Huayquerian
Age range of interval: 7.9 - 4.9 m.y. ago
Age estimate: 7.045 to 6.324 Ma (other)
Stratigraphy
Formation:Epecuén
Stratigraphic resolution:formation
Stratigraphy comments: Schmidt et al. 2018: Late Miocene deposits in La Pampa Province are very extensive and grouped into the Cerro Azul Formation (Linares et al., 1980; Folguera and Zarate, 2009), including the “Epecuen Formation” in west of Buenos Aires Province (sensu Pascual, 1961, Goin et al., 2000). Figure 2 illustrates the stratigraphic distribution of the locality giving a general age estimate of 6.6-7.2Ma.

Rasia et al 2020: “formación” Epecuén, que en la localidad de Salinas Grandes de Hidalgo se considera sinónimo de la Formación Cerro Azul (Fig. 1), Mioceno tardío (Piso/Edad Huayqueriense; ver Goin et al., 2000; ver Fig. 2)

Romano et al. 2023: Biochronological methods were useful in ordering and estimating the age of the different faunas of the Cerro Azul Formation, ranging from ca. 8 to ca. 5.7 Ma. Some appear to be transitional between Chasicoan and “Huayquerian” faunas (Cerro La Bota, Cerro Patagua, and Algarrobo del Águila), and other three (Barrancas Coloradas, El Guanaco, and Caleufú) cover the latest Miocene, even some of them could have reached the earliest Pliocene. The Cerro Azul Formation localities cover the range between ca. 8 to ca. 5.7 Ma (late Tortonian–Messinian; Late Miocene; Fig. 3; Supplementary Online Information 1, Tab. S8). 6.609 Ma (6.324 - 7.045 Ma) for Salinas Grande de Hidalgo.
Lithology and environment
Primary lithology:brown lithified siltstone
Environment:fluvial indet.
Geology comments: Schmidt et al. 2018: At Laguna Chillhué and Salinas Grandes de Hidalgo, fluvial and eolian deposits are intercalated (Deschamps et al., 2013; Mehl and Zarate, 2014).
Taphonomy
Modes of preservation:body
Size of fossils:macrofossils
Collection methods and comments
Reason for describing collection:paleoecologic analysis
Collection method comments: Museo de La Plata collection

Esteban, et al. 2000: Todos los ejemplares analizados están depositados en
la Cátedra de Geología Histórica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales de la Universidad Nacional ele La Pampa, Argentina, cuyo acrónimo es GHUNLPam

Rasia et al 2020: El material fue colectado por R. Pascual, E. J. Ortega Hinojosa y E. P. Tonni en

Vezzosi 2012: The Pampean material (MMP-990) described in this study was collected by Alejandro Dondas. The fossil remains are stored in the collections of the Museo Municipal de Mar del Plata ‘Lorenzo Scaglia’ (MMP).
Metadata
Database number:87198
Authorizer:J. Alroy, P. Mannion, J. Carrillo, E. Vlachos, C. Jaramillo Enterer:J. Alroy, J. Carrillo, M. Kouvari, E. Vlachos, K. Pino, G. Varnham
Modifier:G. Varnham Research group:vertebrate
Created:2009-03-09 15:05:40 Last modified:2025-02-22 15:12:02
Access level:the public Released:2009-03-09 15:05:40
Creative Commons license:CC0
Reference information

Primary reference:
29353. S. F. Vizcaíno and R. A. Fariña. 1999. On the flight capabilities and distribution of the giant Miocene bird Argentavis magnificens (Teratornithidae). Lethaia 32(4):271-278 [J. Alroy/J. Alroy]

Secondary references:

72948 M. M. Cenizo, C. P. Tambussi, and C. I. Montalvo. 2012. Late Miocene continental birds from the Cerro Azul Formation in the Pampean region (central- southern Argentina). Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology 36(1):47-68 [P. Mannion/G. Varnham]
73117 E. Cerdeño and C. I. Montalvo. 2002. Los Hegetotheriinae (Hegetotheriidae, Notoungulata) del Mioceno superior de la provincia de La Pampa, Argentina. Revista del Museo Argentina de Ciencias Naturales 41(1):35-43 [P. Mannion/G. Varnham]
42415 F. de Broin and M. de la Fuente. 1993. Les tortues fossiles d'Argentine: synthese [The fossil turtles of Argentina: synthesis]. Annales de Paléontologie (Invertebrés-Vertebrés) 79(3):169-232 [R. Benson/R. Benson/M. Carrano]
64606 M. S. de la Fuente, G. G. Zacarias, and E. Vlachos. 2018. A review of the fossil record of the South American turtles of the clade Pan-Testudinoidea. Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History [E. Vlachos/E. Vlachos/S. Bruning]
70059 G. I. Esteban, N. L. Nasif, and C. I. Montalvo. 2000. Nuevos registros de Dasypodidae (Xenarthra) del Mioceno tardío de la provincia de La Pampa, Argentina. Revista Espanola de Paleontología 16(1):77-87 [P. Mannion/M. Kouvari]
48408 F. J. Goin, C. I. Montalvo, and G. Visconti. 2000. Los marsupiales (Mammalia) del Mioceno Superior de la Formacion Cerro Azul(Provincia de La Pampa, Argentina). Estudios Geol 56:101-126 [C. Jaramillo/J. Carrillo/J. Carrillo]
58306 L. G. Marshall. 1981. Review of the Hathlyacyninae, an extinct subfamily of South American "dog-like" marsupials. Fieldiana Geology 7:1-120 [J. Zijlstra/J. Zijlstra]
70873 R. Pascual, J. Pisano, and E. J. Ortega. 1965. Un nuevo Octodontidae (Rodentia, Caviomorpha) de la formacion Epecuen (Plioceno medio) de Hidalgo (Provincia de la Pampa). Consideraciones sobre los Ctenomyinae Reig, 1958, y la morfologia de sus molariformes. Ameghiniana 4(1):19-30 [P. Mannion/M. Kouvari/M. Kouvari]
72411 L. L. Rasia, R. A. Bonini, and A. M. Candela. 2020. Nuevos registros de Lagostomus Brookes, 1828 (Rodentia, Chinchillidae) en el Mioceno tardío de Argentina y su importancia bioestratigráfica. Andean Geology 47(2) [P. Mannion/M. Kouvari]
85650 C. O. Romano, R. Bonini, S. Hemming, M. Cenizo, U. F. J. Pardiñas and F. J. Prevosti. 2023. Advances in the understanding of Neogene mammalian fauna in the Pampean region (central Argentina) through revising “biozone” hypotheses based on new dates and biochronological analyses. Ameghiniana 60(5):465-491 [J. Carrillo/K. Pino]
69166 G. I. Schmidt, C. I. Montalvo, R. Sostillo and E. Cerdeño. 2018. Proterotheriidae (Mammalia, Litopterna) from the Cerro Azul Formation (late Miocene), La Pampa Province, Argentina. Journal of South American Earth Sciences 83:165-177 [P. Mannion/G. Varnham]
86911 G. I. Schmidt, C. I. Montalvo, E. Cerdeño, R. Sostillo, R. L. Tomassini and R. A. Bonini. 2022. Updated data on Litopterna from the Huayquerian Stage/Age (Late Miocene-Early Pliocene) of central-east Argentina. Comptes Rendus Palevol 21(32):721-743 [P. Mannion/G. Varnham/P. Mannion]
85304 R. Sostillo, M. C. Cardonatto, L. Kerber and C. I. Moltalvo. 2022. Taxonomic and ontogenetic diversity of Dinomyidae (Rodentia) from the late Miocene-early Pliocene of La Pampa province (Argentina) based on cranio-dental remains. Journal of South American Earth Sciences 114:103704 [J. Carrillo/K. Pino/P. Mannion]
84590 R. Sostillo, C. I. Montalvo, E. Cerdeño, G. I. Schmidt, A. Folguera and M. C. Cardonatto. 2021. Updated knowledge on the Notoungulata (Mammalia) from the late Miocene Cerro Azul Formation, La Pampa Province, Argentina. Historical Biology An International Journal of Paleobiology 33(8):1247-1265 [J. Carrillo/K. Pino]
70799 J. J. Urrutia, C. I. Montalvo, and G. J. Scillato-Yane. 2008. Dasypodidae (Xenarthra, Cingulata) de la Formación Cerro Azul (Mioceno tardío) de la provincia de La Pampa, Argentina. Ameghiniana 45(2):289-302 [P. Mannion/M. Kouvari]
73278 D. H. Verzi, M. G. Vucetich, and C. I. Montalvo. 1994. Octodontid-like Echimyidae (Rodentia): an Upper Miocene episode in the radiation of the family. Paleovertebrata 23(1-4):199-210 [P. Mannion/M. Kouvari]
72944 R. I. Vezzosi. 2012. First record of Procariama simplex Rovereto, 1914 (Phorusrhacidae, Psilopterinae) in the Cerro Azul Formation (upper Miocene) of La Pampa Province; remarks on its anatomy, palaeogeography and chronological range. Alcheringa 36(2):157-169 [P. Mannion/G. Varnham]